RE Log - Spring 2020

SPRING 2020 Ransom Everglades LOG 43 25-Year REunion Lauren Brown Hornor ’95 Conservationist Lauren Brown Hornor ’95 experienced the magic of the Everglades for the first time on her ninth-grade excursion through Outward Bound. The experience changed her life, launching her on a lasting quest to protect nature, wildlife and water. While earning an environmental law degree at Pace, Hornor represented Hudson Riverkeeper in New York and later served as staff attorney for the Waterkeeper Alliance in New York. From there, she moved to Vancouver, B.C., where she launched Fraser Riverkeeper, a non-profit dedicated to swimmable, drinkable, fishable water. Those successful forays into environmental issues inspired her to turn her energy to protecting Biscayne Bay. She and Alexis Siegel ’95 co- founded Miami Waterkeeper. Hornor served for 10 years as its board chair, and now celebrates the organization’s partnership with RE, whose students help monitor water quality in the bay. “It’s really a dream come true,” she said from Vancouver, where she works for Swim Drink Fish Canada. “It’s exciting to see the growing international movement around water play out in a place that means so much to me.” 50-Year REunion George Siemon ’70 Sustainability Pioneer George Siemon ’70 spent his youth climbing trees, photographing birds and enjoying the outdoors. He never aspired to a career in business, but after earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science at Colorado State University and joining the back-to-the-land movement in Wisconsin, he realized family farmers needed help. His passion for organic farming and desire to protect farmers led him to co-found a farming cooperative in 1988 that became Organic Valley, which pools its resources to supply national grocers with organic food, dairy and produce. Siemon built the business with a certain ’60s-era defiance: “We were idealistic,” he said. “We were driven to do something the right way.” Siemon made sure he always prioritized sustainable farming and took care of the farming families who entrusted their livelihoods to him. The result: Organic Valley became the first organic food company to surpass $1 billion in revenue. Siemon, who stepped down as CEO in March 2019, visited Ransom Everglades last year. “All of you are very lucky to be at Ransom Everglades,” he told an economics class. “I hope you take it seriously to make the world a better place.” REunion Paths: Where are they now? These RE alumni celebrating special reunions have made a difference in the world 30-Year REunion Beverly Watson ’90 Global Educator The daughter of educators, Beverly Watson ’90 has long believed in the transformative power of education. During her years at Ransom Everglades, she studied for a semester in Brazil, a defining experience that helped launch what has become a long and accomplished career in global education. “My time in Brazil helped me appreciate different perspectives and different ways of communicating,” she said. “It confirmed for me that having a global mindset is a necessity in today’s world.” Watson went on to study international relations at Georgetown University and law at Stanford Law School. She developed a career in educational leadership, working in law, international development, education and business with the goal of helping to alleviate poverty by increasing access to education and economic opportunity. In her current role as Director of the Global Scholars Programs at King Philanthropies, Watson is passing on the academic values ingrained in her at Ransom Everglades: her focus is on training a pool of collegiate scholars, chosen from developing countries around the globe, to become effective leaders in the fight against poverty.